Wildcats drop bombshell
Hand Webmasters first loss in huge CESAFI upset
The Cebu Institute of TechnologyUniversity (CIT-U) Wildcats dropped a bombshell when they flattened the previously unbeaten University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 8175, in what is by far the biggest upset in the 18th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum last night.
The Webmasters tasted the bitterness of defeat for the first time the hard way as it completely wiped out their goal of gaining an outright finals berth.
In sustaining their giantkilling ways that started when they tamed the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors last week, the Wildcats banked on the breakout performance of Jessie Aloro, the leadership of Kenny Rogers Rocacurva, and the endgame heroics of Jemcerson Sable and Kevin Oleodo.
Aloro finished with 23 points on top of seven rebounds and four assists for the Wildcats.
Rocacurva notched 14 points laced with five rebounds, four steals and two assists, while Sable and Oleodo each scored 10 as the Wildcats pulled off a major stunner that surely earned them a certain measure of respect from their rivals even though their chances of making it to the next round are very slim.
Dictating the pace of the match since the second period, the Wildcats were surprisingly leading along the way including at 65-58 at the final 8:19 mark of the contest but the Webmasters staged a 13-3 blitz to seize the upper hand, 71-68, entering the last two-minute zone.
The Wildcats, however, put up a gallant stand in the face of heavy pressure, with Sable and Oleodo knocking in 3-pointer daggers in succession to put the Wildcats back on top, 74-73, with 1:14 left to play.
After a basket by Darrell Shane Menina that gave UC its last taste of lead, 75-74, Oleodo sank a crucial basket before Sable drilled in a killer trey that virtually put the win in the palm of their hands with a 79-75 edge with only 13.5 ticks remaining in the gameclock.
Compounding UC's woes, Menina committed a costly error off an inbound pass. Aloro then capped his game-long brilliance with a basket down loss to settle the final tally.
Mark Kong chipped in 10 markers on top of 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists as the Wildcats climbed to 2-7.
Cameroonian import Frederick Elomni had a monster double-double show of 27 points and 22 rebounds for the Webmasters. John Calvin Jabello finished with 17 points and Menina charted 15 markers but their efforts went down the drain as UC saw its eight-game winning streak come to a screeching halt.
In high school games, the Junior Webmasters and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles stayed on a roll.
Justin Mondares chalked up 17 points and James Incio added 11 as the UC bantams edged the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers, 63-49, to solidify their hold of the solo second spot with a 6-1 win-loss record.
UC trailed by a hairline at halftime, 27-28, but staged a tide-turning 18-9 rally in the third period to grab the lead after three periods, 45-36. They never looked back from thereon to hand the Baby Panthers their fourth loss in six starts.
Overall, the Junior Webmasters outpointed the Baby Panthers in the final half, 36-51.
On the other hand, sharpshooting guard Koko Tuadles tossed in 14 of his 23 points in the second half to almost single-handedly carry the Magis Eagles to a 62-52 drubbing of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars.
Tuadles and Ray Lewis connived for 17 points in a sizzling endgame assault, 19-8, that handed the Magis Eagles their third straight victory that very well made up for their woeful 0-2 start of the season.
The Baby Jaguars slipped to 4-3, still good for fourth place in the standings.